Frequently asked questions

iwitness24: How does it work?

iwitness24: What is it?

iwitness24 is a community of citizen photographers and videographers who share images and video with their local newspapers and website, plus their social media friends and followers. Join Us

It’s really easy to upload your photos and videos. The best will be published so your friends and family can admire your work.

The iwitness24 website also gives you access to the world’s media, so if you have a new scoop, an amazing piece of video footage or a stunning piece of wildlife photography, it could end up making you money. If someone wants to use your photograph iwitness24 will negotiate a sales price on your behalf for your content.

Who is it for?

It really is for everyone. We will publish as many of the images as possible within our print titles and websites.

How can I send in my photos and videos?

How do I upload my photos and videos to iwitness24?

! to send your photos and videos. We recommend sending photos from your computer, to make the identification of your images easier. You can also send images from your iphone or Android-driven smartphone.

How do I make sure you received my photos or videos?

All the images you upload arrive in our system unless there is a technical issue beyond our control. If there are any issues with submitted images our monitoring team will be in touch after 24 hours if they are unable to resolve the problem.

We have two levels of members – community members and general members. If you have posted images that are of consistently high standards you will become a community member and your pictures will be online within a few minutes.

For general members it can take up to 24 hours to show on the website as they are approved prior to being made publically available, so if your pictures aren’t showing within 24 hours please send us an email so that we can look into this for you. However, pictures taken during your holidays, that are a few years old but with no new interest, or are of bad quality are unlikely to be published on the website or proposed to iwitness24 clients unless they have a current news angle.

What is the maximum size for my photos or videos?

We accept large files up to 200 Mb. Do not compress your videos or photos before sending them, as this will reduce their quality.

Sending your photos and videos can take a long time depending on the size of the file and your connection speed. Sending a 5Mb video with a DSL connection at 512k can take as long as 5 minutes. If your video is too large, you can also cut it in parts. Please note that you will be responsible for all charges, such as internet or phone charges, for uploading your material.

Why can’t I put more than 20 photos in a series of images?

Most stories consist of three to ten photos. It is important for the iwitness24 community, to be able to see easily what a bulk of photos is all about.

Nonetheless, we should be able to choose between all the pictures you took of an event. Don’t forget to take different angles: take some close-ups, some medium shots, and some wide-angle shots so we can get a feel for the whole scene that took place. Only one photo is almost never enough to form an opinion, tell a story, or convince a buyer.

If you have a big series with over 20 equally important photos to offer, you can write this down in the description when you upload the photos and send it in two parts to iwitness24.

What photos or videos should I send in?

Submit all your images – not just one photo

Avoid sending only one photo of an event. Seeing just one image is often not enough to have a clear idea of what took place.

Send an array of photos from various angles (close-ups of faces, wide-angles of the whole scene) so the iwitness24 community and our clients can understand what exactly what you witnessed.

Sometimes iwitness will re-publish and sell old photos or videos, especially when they have a particular interest, or when these images bring forth unpublished information.

Submit your images as quickly as possible

A story is only worth something if you send it within minutes or hours of the event taking place. Send your news images quickly to have a chance to sell them to newspapers and magazines, or to the TV and web clients of iwitness24.

What information do you need from me when I send you my images?

You will not be able to upload content if we don’t have all the necessary information. You must, at least, provide us with the following information:

Title of the image which includes the subject and location.

In the ‘tell us your story’ field: Who is in the photo/video, and what we see him or her or them doing, any other relevant information about the time or place of the submission.

Pick a group that relates to where your image will be displayed on the website. For example: News, Sport, Events, Pets, Photo Challenge.

Where (exact location) you took the photo/video

It is fundamental that you be completely honest and provide us all of the relevant information from the start, and continue to do so as we may need to ask for more information by e-mail or by phone. It is IMPORTANT that you respond to any questions we have quickly, as newspapers and magazines have “deadlines” and simply can’t wait around for answers to their questions. If you want a better chance of selling your work, be sure to be quick to answer our questions and be easily reachable by email or phone.

My images are too blurry or too dark… can I send them anyway?

iwitness24.co.uk prefers to offer the best photos or videos to our members and to the media. However if the image is highly newsworthy poorer quality may be accepted. As a general rule do not upload poor quality images unless you believe they are one of the very few, or exclusive images of a newsworthy item.

Do you alter my photos?

We always keep an original unaltered copy of every photo you send us. We may resize, crop, tweak, sharpen, re-colour and otherwise enhance a photo for publication in Archant’s portfolio, and indeed any other publisher may do the same.

Can I send my photo archives?

iwitness24 prefers timely news documents. If your images are a few months or years old, they are less interesting for our community and for the media. But, if you think you have in your possession exclusive, interesting pictures that portray a past event in a new perspective, then please don’t hesitate to share them with us.

How are my photos and videos sold?

What do I make if iwitness24 sells my images?

If your image is sold within 12 hours of being uploaded to iwitness24.co.uk your will received 33% of what is paid for the image regardless of the amount that is paid for the image.

After 12 hours and for images sold below £250 you will receive 20%. This is because the images are sold by a third party and has associated costs.

For any image sold for an amount above £250 sold after the first 12 hours you will receive 20% on the first £250 and 33% on amount above £250.

How do I get paid?

We will contact you for payment details if we are successful in selling your image. You will need to ensure that we receive the correct payment information within 60 days after receiving the request from us. If we do not received requested information within that time we will be under no obligation to pay to you.

When can I sell the images?

After 90 days the licence you give us is no longer exclusive, so you (or anyone on your behalf) can sell the image.

What is the difference between an exclusive license and a non-exclusive license?

It’s an important distinction. When you send a photo to iwitness24, you sign an agreement to not sell that photo to another site, publish it elsewhere, or share it in any way for a period of 90 days. This is a 90-day exclusive license. After these 90 days, the license becomes non-exclusive and you or other people can sell the image on your behalf.

Can I change my mind after sending a photo to iwitness24?

When you join iwitness24.co.uk and send us a photo, you automatically grant us an exclusive worldwide license for 90 days.

This is a legal agreement that cannot be revoked even if you leave iwitness24.co.uk. After this 90-day period, the license becomes non-exclusive but perpetual, meaning the image will remain in our image bank and that we can continue to use it.

Why can’t I buy pictures on iwitness24.co.uk?

iWitnessiwitness24 is a marketplace that works on a consumer to business principle. It means that anyone over 18 (or under 18’s with the Parental/Guardian consent) is allowed to sell his or her images, but only professionals can buy them.

I am a buyer for a media agency and I want to get a photo.

Where can I find your full terms and conditions?

Right here. You must read and agree to these terms and agree to them before you join iwitness24.co.uk

Why do I want to sell my images in series?

By putting your images into the same series, you raise the value of your story by presenting exclusivity to one buyer. In effect, if you sell your photos of one series to multiple newspapers, it will no longer be a scoop because they will all be sharing the information. Buyers are primarily interested in exclusivity and high quality, both of which can increase their sales.

Do I have any say over where my images are sold?

Unfortunately not, Sellers and buyers remain anonymous.

When will I be informed that my submission was sold?

We receive a report of sold images on the 30th of each month. If your image was sold during that month we will let you know once we receive confirmation.

How will I get paid?

We will ask you to complete a form with payment details. Once you have correctly completed this we will pay your royalty directly by electronic transfer into your bank account. Please note that we will never ask you for your credit card number.

How much is a story worth?

As much as an editor is ready to pay to publish it. It is not possible to make generalisations about the value of images.

I am a professional. Can I sell my photos on iwitness24?

Of course! You just have to give us your contact information when you register. You might even enjoy a better commission rate, depending on the volume of sales that you have on our site. iwitness24.co.uk works with different kinds of professionals. We work with:

Legal issues

My photo could be a breach of privacy...

It is up to you to ensure you have not breached any privacy laws or any other laws. If you are worried don’t upload it, contact us instead.

What if I photograph a crime?

Different crimes should be treated in different ways. We will strive to retain your anonymity whenever possible, but in some cases we might be legally bound to advise the police of your contact details. However, even in such cases it may still be possible to publish a picture with incriminating details (such as faces, license plates, street names, etc.) removed or blurred out.

Please note that we won’t hesitate to contact the police if we believe that you yourself were involved in the crime.

Keep your photos un-altered

iwitness24.co.uk only offers original, authentic, unaltered photos and videos to the media. So please do not edit/re-touch/photoshop or colour-correct your images as we may not be able to use or sell them.

My Account and other practical issues

How can I join iwitness24?

Anyone over 18 can become a citizen reporter on iwitness24. If you are under 18 you can still use iwitness24 however, you will need obtain your parent’s or guardian’s permission and ensure that your parent or guardian has read and understood the Terms and Conditions on your behalf. You can register if you reside in the UK, however we may sell your photo in any country. To register with us, click here.

How much does it cost to sign up?

Not a penny. Registering with iwitness24 is completely FREE.

Why do you need my contact info?

We need to be sure that you are who you say you are. In some cases, we may need to contact you by e-mail or telephone, especially if we need to contact you about the authenticity or legality of the content you’ve submitted.

Why do you need my telephone number?

Three reasons.

First, if you want to send us your work directly from your mobile phone, we have to have your number on file. This allows us to identify you as the sender when a photo or video comes in. Please note: If you submit to us from your mobile phone, we can’t tell which phone it came from! This is why we ask you to include your mobile number in the subject line or message.

Second, we may have to contact you quickly, by way of SMS or phone call, if we need further details about a photo or if you don’t respond to e-mails quickly enough. This is almost always easier if we have your mobile number, rather than having to bother you at home or at work.

Third, we might send a text message to your mobile phone when you join iwitness24.co.uk that contains details of how to send us photos and videos. We keep your number confidential and will not share your information with anybody unless requested to do so by a law enforcement or government agency.

How can I edit my contact information?

You can modify all your info under the “Edit my account” link on your profile page.

How can I edit my password?

You can change your password under the “Edit my account” link on your profile page.

How can I edit my photos/videos?

Once you have submitted your work, you cannot modify it. We also want to remind you that we only accept authentic, unmodified, unedited images.

How can I edit my personal info?

You can access and edit all your personal information the “Edit my account” link on your profile page.

I don’t want to be an iwitness24 member anymore.

We don’t want to see you go, but if you wanted to leave the iwitness24 community, just send us an e-mail. Please note the licences you have given us and NewZulu will continue to exist even if you’ve chosen to leave iwitness24.